The 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now available for families to complete in seeking financial aid for their college-bound children.
Families who may have questions or need help with the process are encouraged to attend a free help session at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 24 in the Holyoke High School North cafeteria, 500 Beech Street. Volunteers will be available to help.
Things to know in advance of the meeting:
Participants should bring cell phones to verify phone numbers as required to enter FAFSA
Also bring Social Security numbers of the student and parent(s) if you have them.
Copies of 2022 taxes are not essential, but may be helpful in some cases.
It is easiest if parent/guardian AND student are both present.
Almost every individual who needs to report information on the FAFSA (called a "contributor") will need a Federal Student Aid identification (or FSA ID) to access the system. The FSA ID is simply a username and password that allows access to FSA systems. An individual cannot set up an FSA ID and start the FAFSA on the same day, because it takes a few days for the FSA ID to be verified. Therefore, families should prioritize setting up their FSA ID now.
If you have questions or need more information prior to the meeting, please send an email to College and Career Counselor Anna Rigali.
What's new with FAFSA this year?
The main application for college financial aid has gone through a significant overhaul this year, and as a result, launched almost three months later than usual. Federal Student Aid—an office of the U.S. Education Department—is calling this period of the FAFSA's initial availability a "soft launch" to let families know that it will be a period when FSA is closely monitoring the application and users’ experience with it.
While in this soft launch period, there may be periods of downtime when the FAFSA is not available while FSA conducts maintenance on the system.
Students who are considering attending college in the fall should complete the FAFSA, and the state has resources available to help them do so. Please see www.mass.gov/financialaid and the Massachusetts Educational Finance Authority (MEFA).